Clarence Gilyard Cause of Death

Clarence Gilyard, a veteran actor who appeared in Die Hard, Matlock, and Walker, Texas Ranger before going on to become a theater professor and author, passed away on November 28, 2022.  He was 66.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas College of Fine Arts, where Gilyard taught, he had been ill for quite some time. No additional information was provided.

UNLV College of Fine Arts Dean Nancy Uscher said she felt “profound sadness” in announcing Gilyard’s death.

“His students were deeply inspired by him, as were all who knew him. He had many extraordinary talents and was extremely well-known in the university through his dedication to teaching and his professional accomplishments,” Uscher said in a statement.

Gilyard has been a professor in the UNLV Department of Film since 2006. He had been a well-known television, film, and theater professional for over 30 years at the time.

Gilyard rose to prominence in the 1988 thriller “Die Hard” as computer-terrorist expert Theo. For 13 years, he was on prime time, network TV as Andy Griffith’s private investigator, Conrad McMasters, on “Matlock,” and then as Jimmy Trivette on “Walker, Texas Ranger,” opposite Chuck Norris.